Oil Filter Position on Cars

[GarageGuy89]

Hoping to keep this about oil filter locations and type (cans vs paper cartridge) only, not a discussion on oil.

Serviced the wife and my cars this weekend. Both happen to be 2008 models and the diesel a 1993.

2.2L Ecotec
3.8L Chrysler
6.5L Detroit Diesel TC

The Ecotec has the filter housing accessed from the hood next to the oil fill hole. It takes a large socket and the top pulls off vertically upwards. The cap is re-usable and the filter snaps in and out. Pretty idiot proof and you don't spill any oil and most importantly, you don't have to muscle a stubborn filter can off.

The Chrysler on the other hand, is your typical spin on metal filter under the car. Also, fairly idiot proof, you just have a mess of oil to deal with when it does pop off, and they can be stubborn at first to break the seal.

The Detroit diesel is similar to the Chrysler, only they placed the dam filter directly above the front axle and exhaust down pipe. So every time you remove it you are hitting those parts with oil residue. And we all know how much we love to spill diesel oil.

To my point. After completing the maintenance the Ecotec engine was the least stressful change, and was literally a 5-10 min change, with no oil spilled. The other two got oil EVERYWHERE when I popped off that filter, and unscrewing those can filters its a nightmare, even when I have a socket filter for them. Further more, the paper filter costs more than the metal can filters...which has me scratching my head.

Which do you guys prefer, and in my eyes every filter should be a paper filter that is removed upwards vertically.

Let me hear your thoughts.

 

[sberry]

I had a 3.8 I changed regular at 30K miles. Saved a lot of mess.

 

[jnich1977]

My F150 has the cartridge filter on top of the motor, I absolute love it. It also has a "no tool" drain plug, that is also pretty neat.

 

[gungatim]

LGR!

 

[JoeMcGov]

I'm a Toyota guy. Recent Toyotas have paper cartridge filters that hang down. This requires a bottom cap to be removed. Talk about oil f'n everywhere!!! OMG. On my 2017 Tundra truck I found a really nice (aircraft aluminum material) aftermarket cartridge cap that comes with a Fumoto valve in the cap to drain out all that cartridge cavern oil. YEA.

Of all the vehicles in my life my 1992 Toyota Celica with a transverse mount inline 4 was the best. The spin on metal filter was on the front of the engine and on the top of the block. OH MY GOD. Ratchet with a 3" extension and filter cap "socket" and that dude was off the new one on in 3 minutes tops. NO OIL anywhere. I want those days back.

 

[kbs2244]

Thus is why they make remote mount filter kits.
They are engine specific and sometimes body style specific.
I would check them out.

 

[snickers muncher]

Best is my 96 camry. Filter on front of engine like JoeMcGov described. Very easy.

Worst was my father's Buick. I don't remember which exactly, but it was a 90's 3800. The filter was above the front passenger axle. You couldn't see it at all. You had to twist a cap socket and ratchet up there and put it on and loosen by feel. There was a plastic slide above the axle that directed the spilled oil to the rear where you were working. One you did it a few times it was not too big of a deal, but certainly not well planned.

 

[exmaxima1]

The Ecotec has the filter housing accessed from the hood next to the oil fill hole. It takes a large socket and the top pulls off vertically upwards. The cap is re-usable and the filter snaps in and out. Pretty idiot proof and you don't spill any oil and most importantly, you don't have to muscle a stubborn filter can off.

Sounds like every BMW built since 1997, or possibly earlier. Yes, great design, but nothing really new.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

Best vehicle that I have had to change oil on is my 99 s10 four banger, you can unscrew the filter from the top and it has an actual drain chute to divert the spilled oil so it doesn’t splatter all over the engine and frame. All you have to do is put the oil catch in the right spot and you can do everything from the top.

I also have a Toyota RAV4 which has a paper filter and it ***** because I make more of a mess than anything trying to change the filter...

I waste more paper towels on the Toyota than anything


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[finn]

The 6.5 is a 37 year old design, so I wouldn’t be to upset.

Same with the Buick 3800, which came out in 1961 or 62, which means it’s coming up on sixty years old.

No wonder neither has the latest technology.

 

[2gslse]

Mazda rotarys are spin on on top the engine. Upside down.
Icepick the can and let drain first then not bad

 

[matt_i]

My only beef with the EcoTec design is the filter costs more than one with a steel housing (!!) Maybe because they have to package a new o-ring with it or ?

 

[drewsifer714]

Mazda rotarys are spin on on top the engine. Upside down.
Icepick the can and let drain first then not bad

Ha! I forgot about those. My Rx-7s we're usually low enough on oil when I changed it that I didn't have to wait for them to drain. The filter came off clean.

I too worked in a service station, and quickly learn from my uncles to make a quick funnel of sorts from the filter box for Toyotas. But that was years ago. I have only owned old cars and trucks since that time. Older vehicles had more room to work so I forgot about that hassle of the modern engine bay.

The most cramped engine bay I own now is the '63 Continental. Hardly the same kind of cramped as a Camry.

 

[danb35]

Every car I've owned since 2000, except one (a 2015 Audi A3 TDI), has had a topside canister. Take a 32mm socket, remove the cap, remove the filter element, replace the O-ring, installation is the reverse of removal. Can be done while I'm sucking out the oil, also from the top side. Clean, convenient, low-frustration oil changes. I won't say I'll never buy another car without this filter arrangement, but I sure won't want to.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

If you have the time, punch a hole in the bottom of vertical mount filters. It'll save some of the mess and let it drain. I just wear my HF blue gloves, and wrap a rag around the filter to remove once it drains a bit. Toss the glove and the rag when you're done.


Ecotecs are about the easiest location, at least the 2.2/2.4 gen. The new ones in the cruze aren't terrible, just less room, especially on the 1.4 turbo. 2.5 ecotec is now back to a spin-on metal filter.


For ****** design, the finalists are:

GM 3.6, filter basically touches front manifold converter.
First gen of honda k20, wiring in the way, dumps directly onto axle boot, awkward.
Toyota 3.4 (and some abomination of a GM/suzuki V6 2.5 maybe?), buried on drivers side, obscured by diff and unibody.
Toyota v6/v8, COULD have been mounted horizontally, like the 1.8, but was not. Messy and hot.
Nissan VG/VQ RWD orientation. Tiny access hole, skid plate bolts snap off, impossible to clean without removing skid plate.
Honda earth dreams 2.4 and new R18. Stupid metal skid plate, held on with Phillips head bolts. The seize all the time, and lube-techs bend the metal shield all up.
Those VWs where you need triple square, and two different torx to drop the skid plate.
Goddamn LS engines with no room between the pan and the filter, so you have to use a band wrench, but the front driveshaft is in the way.

Those are the most current annoyances anyways.




Being that I work on cars, I would like easy to access filters. Being that the average car going 200k, at 5k intervals, is getting 40 LOFs, that the owners typically don't do..... they don't give a damn where they go. Luckily that's why lube techs exist.

Don't get me started on some of the places they bury crank sensors, or hide connectors so you can't reach them to backprobe.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

My F150 has the cartridge filter on top of the motor, I absolute love it. It also has a "no tool" drain plug, that is also pretty neat.

Until it falls out on the parkway...

Tommy

 

[Milton Shaw]

A friend had a 3.0 Ford that every time you changed the filter you covered the starter and solenoid in oil. They are noted for how quickly the starters have to be replaced. Last time I had it towed so I could replace the starter the tow truck operator said it was the 4th one that day for him with bad starter. Honda had one that the oil filter drained into the exhaust shield over the converter and would catch fire about a 100 miles down the road. I didn't run into one my self I heard that from parts house.

 

[rjacobs]

now if you wanna complain about fuel filter locations, i'm all in...C4 corvette?

That one is easy...

Remove the rear line, remove the clamp from the filter, go up into the engine bay and remove the line clamps, pull the filter assembly up into the engine compartment, remove the "front" line, replace, reinstall.

Its super easy if you pull it straight up into the engine compartment to change it.

 

[joeammond]

If you have the time, punch a hole in the bottom of vertical mount filters. It'll save some of the mess and let it drain. I just wear my HF blue gloves, and wrap a rag around the filter to remove once it drains a bit. Toss the glove and the rag when you're done.

I really like that tip, that’ll save me some mess on my Neon and Dakota.

I do like the cartridge filters on my BMWs, right on top of the engine and easy to get to.

 

[wssix99]

I think the Bugatti Oil Change makes a lot of sense, personally...

 

[B17E1943]

As one who was a 'lube man' from '84-'89 at 2 GM dealers - GM engineers ****.

 

[plinker]

\

The Detroit diesel is similar to the Chrysler, only they placed the dam filter directly above the front axle and exhaust down pipe. So every time you remove it you are hitting those parts with oil residue. And we all know how much we love to spill diesel oil.

Had to change the oil on one of these with the added bonus of it being 4wd. Stupid drive shaft added an extra obstacle to get around.


Newer Toyota filters are a mess maker as well.

 

[Firebrick43]

Subarus have an upside down spin on next to the oil fill on the right front of the engine.

I put a fumoto valve on the pan and as long as you wait till the pan drains so does the filter.

No mess, no cartridge to handle, no oring to change, and no housing to tear up.

The fumoto I got has the short ****** with a littl plastic adapter that snaps on. Put a 6" piece of plastic hose and place it directly in a 5 quart jug so you don't even have to fool with a catch pan and then pouring oil into other containers.

 

[bob from indiana]

I keep a roll of aluminum foil in the shop. It can make a funnel or ramp to avoid a mess.

 

[66HertzClone]

Mazda rotarys are spin on on top the engine. Upside down.
Icepick the can and let drain first then not bad

Given that those filters had an anti-drain back valve I'm kind of surprised this worked well.

 

[ChaseDE]

BMW filter is on top, GOOD. So was the Benz, on top and easy, no spills.

17 Jeep cherokee (V6) is on top as well

Old 06 Honda Pilot was on bottom and above a cross member which spilt oil both ways when it drained, great car but bad design on that.

 

[tinmanwpk]

I had a '79 MGB. British Engineering - an oxymoron - placed the metal oil filter canister in an easy access, but it screwed in upside down. When you unscrewed it oil ran out of the canister all over everything!

 

[66HertzClone]

Nissan has some very difficult filters to access. The 1988 Maxima and prior years with the transverse V6 were a nightmare, as were the V6 300ZX and some years of the pickup truck with the 4 cylinder engine. The S10 Blazer and pickups with the V6 and four wheel drive were a treat, a long extension and a cap feed that over the tire through the wheel well and try to get it out without having the filter fall out of the cap.

Love those Dodge pickups this that huge plastic skid plate, they put a hole in it so you could reach the filter and the drain plug. They should have made the hole for the oil drain a little larger, when hot the oil would flow far enough out of the drain plug to allow it to be captured in the skidplate.

Still my all time favorites is the Infiniti Q45 that very first version, it had a skidplate if you want to call it that. No access holes, it has to be removed entirely in order to service it. Must have been 14 bolts holding it in place, after a couple of winters up here in the northeast these bolts would rust in place in the threads that were in the frame and cross member. These bolts would then snap off when you try to remove them making in near impossible to put the plate back in place securely without having to drill and tap the holes clear. If the skip plate isn't replace these cars could overheat as the plate was a major portion of the cooling system. No front grill opening, the air was directed from under the bumper and the plate funnels the air out.

The aluminum foil trick does work great, especially when wrapped over those braided sections of the exhaust systems.

 

[Jinks]

My wife's EOS has the filter on top, inverted. Bone simple, no spill oil change. I have a Mazda MX-5 with the usual vertical filter hidden behind a removable splash pan, A little more time consuming, but easy to change. Our '14 Chevy Traverse however... Some genius put the filter on the front of the engine horizontally. Can't get to it from the bottom, can barely see it from the top, & can only get one hand down to it. Once it's loose any oil in it runs down the front of the motor & splatters off whatever is below. If you don't cover everything with a tarp you get oil stains... Putting the new filter on is an exercise in blind mechanics. When you finish you need to wash down the underside or take it for a drive or it'll leave oil spots for days. All our vehicles have Fumoto drain valves, only the filters are any kind of mess. I agree with B17E1943, GM engineers ****!

 

[Lonnies Performance]

It also baffles me as to why a cartridge filter is $14 & one in a metal housing is $4.

I love the under hood cartridge filters.... no oil loss or mess.

For those working on vehicles that the filter drains onto the exhaust, grab a garbage bag & wrap around the exhaust first. Saves you from the smell & smoke of an oil soaked exhaust.

Actually the worst annoyance for me is the under belly shields on many new cars. You think there would be an access hole to get to the filter & drain plug without removing additional parts.

 

[aka Larry]

My '96 Miata 1.8L oil filter was located under the intake manifold. Could be accessed from the top, but was still a *****, and makes a mess. Some owners use a baby diaper to catch the spillage that will occur every time.

My '98 Cavalier with the Quad 4 (2.4L LD9) engine has the oil filter mounted horizontally on the front of the engine. Easy access underneath, and it didn't make a mess when draining.

My wife's '98 Cavalier with the 2.2L engine had the oil filter mounted on the back of the engine right above the exhaust flex pipe, like it was designed to make a mess. I finally started wrapping the flex pipe with aluminum foil to avoid trapping oil in the braid of the flex pipe.

My '07 Fusion with the 2.3L engine had that stupid cartridge system. Even though the canister cap had a drain hole, it never worked right and when the actual cap was removed it made a huge mess. To top it off the cartridges were twice the cost of a typical spin-on type. As soon as it passed the 100K mark, and the warranty expired, I bought a Mazda kit to convert it to a spin-on filter. Needless to say, I'm no fan of the cartridge filters, at least ones accessed from the bottom.

 

[tonyciambrone]

Subarus have an upside down spin on next to the oil fill on the right front of the engine.

New subarus do, true. Old ones werent that bad though under the car. I own a 4wd 6.5 and yeah, they arent the easiest.

Least favorite is honda crv 2000-2005 I believe and some other 1990s honda where the oil filter is between the exhaust headers and block. Customer gets done with their commute with the engine fully hot, now youve got to fish out this filter without burning yourself. The CRV had the crossmember directly underneath. We had laminated paper to redirect the splash

 

[myredracer]

Back in the "olden days" some cars, like Fiat, had centrifugal filters on the end of the crankshaft. It always amazed me how much sludge/**** accumulated inside. Not fun to clean and you had to scrape it out and it was really stuck in there.

Last time our F250 needed an oil change I thought I'd do it myself. Filter is easy to access underneath but the lube shop that did it the last time must have used an impact wrench to put it on, pffffft... Finally had to drive a screwdriver through it and even then it almost wouldn't budge.

 

[glentre]

I like changing oil in my '31 Model A roadster and my '31 Chrysler Sedan. No oil filter in either one! Love the old days.......just have to change more often.

Glen

 

[CJ7VFR]

Worst one for me is on my 1985 Jeep CJ-7. The spin on oil filter is attached on the side of the engine block, at an angle, right over top of the starter motor!

Because the filter is put on at a angle, as soon as you start to loosen it oil runs down the side of the block and onto the starter motor. Then from there it drips right onto the front driveshaft coming out of the front differential. Makes a nice mess every time.

After the first few times this happened, in order to keep things a bit less oily, I started to use a piece of tinfoil to cover the things I didn't want oil getting on. I would put the top edge of the tinfoil up under the base of where the oil filter screwed into the block, and then shape the tinfoil into a kind of "V" shape so it would cover the starter motor and help guide the oil down into the drain pan.

This has helped A LOT, and I now do this on any oil filter that I think will cause an issue with oil getting everywhere. It works great, minimizes clean up, and best of all helps keep oil from getting all over everything.

The best one for me has been the oil filter on my wife's 2012 Kia Sorento with the 3.5L V6. The oil filter is right on top and uses a paper filter covered by a hard plastic spin on cover.

No oil drips. No oil spills. No oily mess. The spin on plastic cover uses a 27mm socket, which I have, so getting it on and off is a breeze. The oil change in her Kia takes minutes and is very easy to do. I don't even have to put the Kia up on any ramps to access the oil drain plug on the oil pan. It is by far the easiest vehicle I have ever changed the oil on.

Jim

 

[CoogarXR]

Back when I had my 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII 4.6 DOHC, I used to have the oil changes done for me. My job paid for it. I remember the techs always bitching about the filter being in a bad spot, and I would have to turn the wheels (must have been right behind the tire or something).

On to the oil changes I do myself:

My old fox-body 5.0 cougar was a pain in the ****. Two drain plugs on the oil pan, and the filter directly over the steering/sway bars. One of the drain plugs also dumped all over the place on the way down too (I don't remember if it was front or rear, it's been several years since I had that car). I just remember laying out newspaper all over before doing an oil change on that one. It was just a messy job all over.

My 2.3 Turbo cougar is easy. It's right on the side of the block, nothing around it.

My astro van is super easy to get to, 90* straight down (so no guessing thread angles when putting it back on), but man does it retain oil. I've never been able to spin that one off without it burping all down my hand. It's predictable though, at least I can have the pan under it and ready.

My wife's 2004 civic hybrid is easy, except for that dang plastic shroud that covers the whole bottom of the engine. It takes longer to get that thing off than it does to do the whole oil change.

 

[SHOCheapRacing]

2006 CRV PITA to reach above the axle and up high on the block, makes a mess..

2003 Dodge Ram 1500 above the front axle with built in funnel, medium mess.

C5 Vette straight down filter, drain that shoots about 3 feet with 7+ quarts. Clean and easy if I can swap drain pans quickly.

2001 I30 super easy sideways filter on passenger side of engine.

 

[CJ7VFR]

...C5 Vette straight down filter, drain that shoots about 3 feet with 7+ quarts. Clean and easy if I can swap drain pans quickly.....

Get yourself a large capacity, low profile drain pan with a screw on lid that come completely off.

I have a 2005 Chrysler 300C, that also requires 7 quarts of oil. The oil drain pan that I had was not a large enough capacity to accept all that oil all at once.

I bought a simple, low profile round drain pan that has a screw on top that comes completely off of the pan, exposing the entire interior of the pan. This allows the pan to be placed in just one spot under the car to catch the oil whether it is shooting out of the drain hole fast or coming to a slow drip when it is empty.

The drain pan also has a slightly elevated area, with a round 1/2 inch diameter stud sticking up from it, to allow you to place the used oil filter upside down on the stud to hold it in place while the oil drains out of it.

The only downside to the low profile pan with a completely removable lid is that with 7 quarts of used oil in it, I have to move it out from under the car slowly so the old oil does not slop around and spill out.

Other than that, the pan works excellent, and it can hold up to 12 quarts of fluid.

Jim

 

[MikeF2316]

What surprises me is that they still need to design and bring out new filters. You'd think there were enough different sizes and shapes now that there would be something on the shelf already... I was brought up on Volvo, and always admired that all of their gas engines, even the one that they shared with Peugeot and Renault used the same filter. The diesels were VW/Audi designs, so we forgave them that the filter was different. That is from 1962-1998. Now each new engine seems to need a new oil filter.

My Volvo is very good. Metal canister that hangs down at the bottom of the engine. A little oil comes down the side of it when you crack the seal, but if you wait a couple of minutes, no mess is made. No splash pan.

The Infiity G35 is almost as easy. 4 bolts (oiled last time so not rusted in place) out of the splash pan and that part folds out of the way for filter access. The filter is a metal canister at the bottom, mounted sideways, nothing underneath, so no mess is made.

The Yamaha (FJ1200) is a disaster. I like to start by parking it on a piece of cardboard that's at least 1 meter square. The cartridge is on the side of the engine, and has a drain plug, thoughtfully located right over the neutral switch and the frame it's mounted on. You take it out, but most of the oil stays inside, because air has no way to get in. So when you remove it, the oil wooshes out, all over the exhaust collector located just below, then runs off in multiple directions. At least the collector is "self drying"! When you reinstall the filter, you need to be sure you don't catch the wire for the neutral switch behind it. I only did that once.

The Ducati is easy. Take off the "skid plate", unscrew the metal canister, nothing below it. I've seen complaints that one of the screws for the skid plate is behind the center stand and is inaccessible unless you take the stand off. Or they could put it on the side stand, remove that one screw, and then put it on the center stand.

 

[Barnabas]

My Econoline was designed so that changing the filter dumps oil over the front cross member causing a mess. I installed a remote filter that placed the filter in front of the front tire, just behind the front bumper. This made it super easy to change the filter. No mess.